Adequate age for using cannabis

What would you tell someone 15-22 who came to see you and said they were thinking about using cannabis? “Everyone says it’s great fun and safer than drinking. Enlightened governments are legalizing it around the world. Some of my friends do it and they are still getting good grades.” What would you tell this fictional, curious, would be cannabis consumer? My understanding of your opinion of psychedelics is to take them infrequently and integrate the experience into your life before dropping again. Do you think the same applies to mota?

For over fifty years we have heard about cannabis and brain damage. What does science and experience really tell us?

The links below are to reports which indicate damage to developing brains from both heavy drinking and cannabis. It’s too late for me, I’m quiting again(really this time, I even sent X the last fraction of my bitcoin treasure), but maybe some of the Tor savy youths on this site can gain from your perspective on intelligent cannabis use. Maybe the intelligent thing to do is wait until the brain is done development before indulging, in spite of the modern day jongleurs who sing the praises of Kush, Chronic, etc.

Not sure exactly what all those studies mean, but they frighten me nevertheless. If you read only one, read the last link, it’s about addiction and choice.

Drug effects and risks depend on many factors. It is difficult to assess a 15-22 years old teenager without knowing his health status, mental condition, motivations, pattern of use of cannabis…In general, all drugs are less risky if used occasionally and in controlled conditions. Alcohol can be relatively harmless if used rationally or a very dangerous drug depending on all the factors previously mentioned. The same happens with cannabis. As a general rule, use of drugs in adults is better than in teenagers, not only by neurochemical-anatomical-structural factors but also because personality is more mature in adult people and capacity of control and decission is more developed. Nevertheless, most cannabis teenager users do not develop problems, although a minority can do it. In heavy users, personality disorders and/or very negative socioeconomical circumpstances these problems are more frequent. Cannabis is not a very high adictive substance (compared with others as alcohol, opiates or benzodiacepines) but some persons have difficulties to control their use.

In relation with neurotoxic potential, there is no proof that cannabis cause neurotoxic, long-lasting effects in humans. Most of the studies you show are retrospective, compare different populations or have methodological biases. The marketed spray of cannabinoids used in multiple sclerosis (a purified cannabis extract) has passed all FDA and European Union sanitary authorizations and there is no mention to “neurotoxic effects” in any of the technical sheets or clinical trials. This does not mean that “cannabis is good” , but definetly there are no proofs of neurotoxic cannabis effects (as these are described for alcohol or some amphetamine derivatives)